My friend's hobby

My friend Nick is very busy and he doesn't have much time to spare. But he's got a lot of hobbies and interests.

Five years ago Nick was fond of collecting stamps. His hobby helped him to learn a lot about other countries and other peoples' traditions, the world's flora and fauna. Maybe that's why he was good at geography and biology at school. He used to bring the albums to school and we examined his stamps with great interest and envy. Sometimes he exchanged stamps with his schoolmates.

When Nick was in the tenth form his parents bought him a compact disc player and Nick decided to collect compact discs. Today, he has got more than one hundred CDs of his favourite groups and singers! I think that he is very proud of his collection.

Every time Nick buys a new CD he carefully studies the information printed on disc booklets. He also tries to find out everything about the singers he likes. That's why he reads a lot of specialised magazines and books on the history of rock.

Nick never misses MTV shows — he thinks he must keep up with the news in the world of music. He says he likes all types of music except "rave".

He even writes letters to some fan-clubs in other countries, so he has to brush up his English.

Nick never misses a concert of his favourite group. He brings his compact discs to the concert and asks the singers for their autographs.

But in spite of his new hobby, Nick sometimes sits in his room and looks through his albums of stamps (with his earphones on, of course).

Questions

1. Nick doesn't have much time to spare, does he?

2. Why was he good at geography and biology at school?

3. What is his new hobby?

4. Why does Nick try not to miss MTV shows?

5. Do you think his English is good?

6. Have you ever written a fan letter to your favourite singer?

7. Are you fond of listening to music?

8. What kind of music do you prefer?

9. Do you play any musical instruments?

10. Have you ever collected anything?

11. What is your hobby?

12. What is your best friend's hobby?

13. Which of your friends collects stamps (records, compact discs, etc)?

14. Do you watch MTV?

15. How do you usually spend your leisure (досуг) time?

TRAVELLING

Millions of people all over the world spend their holidays travelling. They travel to see other countries and continents, modern cities and the ruins of ancient towns, they travel to enjoy picturesque places, or just for a change of scene. It's always interesting to discover new things, different ways of life, to meet different people, to try different food, to listen to different musical rhythms.

Those who live in the country like to go to a big city and spend their time visiting museums and art galleries, looking at shop windows and dining at exotic restaurants. City-dwellers usually like a quiet holiday by the sea or in the mountains, with nothing to do but walk and bathe and laze in the sun.

Most travellers and holiday-makers take a camera with them and take pictures of everything that interests them — the sights of a city, old churches and castles, views of mountains, lakes, valleys, plains, waterfalls, forests; different kinds of trees, flowers and plants, animals and birds.

Later, perhaps years later, they will be reminded by the photos of the happy time they have had.

People travel by train, by plane, by boat and by car.

All means of travel have their advantages and disadvantages. And people choose one according to their plans and destinations.

If we are fond of travelling, we see and learn a lot of things that we can never see or learn at home, though we may read about them in books and newspapers, and see pictures of them on TV. The best way to study geography is to travel, and the best way to get to know and understand people is to meet them in their own homes.

Questions

1. Are you fond of travelling?

2. Why do people travel?

3. Why do people take a camera with them? What do they usually photograph?

4. What do we see and learn while travelling?

5. Do you agree that travelling broadens our minds?

6. How do different people spend their holidays?

7. What means of travel do you know? What are their advantages and disadvantages?

8. What places have you visited?

9. Have you ever taken a holiday cruise круиз) along the Black Sea coast or down the Volga?

10. Some people prefer to travel on their own and hate travelling in a group. What about you?

11. What countries would you like to visit?

12. Do you like to explore new places?

13. If someone invited you to spend a week on a desert island, would you agree?

14. Do you believe that one day people will be able to travel in space?

15. Would you like to go to Mars or some other planet?

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14